Communication (and Coordination?) in a Modern, Complex Organization
Abstract
This is a descriptive study of the structure of communications in a modern organization. We
analyze a dataset with millions of electronic mail messages, calendar meetings and
teleconferences for many thousands of employees of a single, multidivisional firm during a
three-month period in calendar 2006. The basic question we explore asks, what is the role of
observable (to us) boundaries between individuals in structuring communications inside the
firm? We measure three general types of boundaries: organizational boundaries (strategic
business unit and function memberships), spatial boundaries (office locations and inter-office
distances), and social categories (gender, tenure within the firm). In dyad-level models of the
probability that pairs of individuals communicate, we find very large effects of formal
organization structure and spatial collocation on the rate of communication. Homophily effects
based on sociodemographic categories are much weaker. In individual-level regressions of
engagement in category-spanning communication patterns, we find that women, mid- to highlevel
executives, and members of the executive management, sales and marketing functions are
most likely to participate in cross-group communications. In effect, these individuals bridge the
lacunae between distant groups in the company‘s social structure.
Communication (and Coordination?) in a Modern, Complex Organization
Abstract
This is a descriptive study of the structure of communications in a modern organization. We
analyze a dataset with millions of electronic mail messages, calendar meetings and
teleconferences for many thousands of employees of a single, multidivisional firm during a
three-month period in calendar 2006. The basic question we explore asks, what is the role of
observable (to us) boundaries between individuals in structuring communications inside the
firm? We measure three general types of boundaries: organizational boundaries (strategic
business unit and function memberships), spatial boundaries (office locations and inter-office
distances), and social categories (gender, tenure within the firm). In dyad-level models of the
probability that pairs of individuals communicate, we find very large effects of formal
organization structure and spatial collocation on the rate of communication. Homophily effects
based on sociodemographic categories are much weaker. In individual-level regressions of
engagement in category-spanning communication patterns, we find that women, mid- to highlevel
executives, and members of the executive management, sales and marketing functions are
most likely to participate in cross-group communications. In effect, these individuals bridge the
lacunae between distant groups in the company‘s social structure.
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